LONDON (Reuters) - Finance minister George Osborne met senior Chinese officials in London on Thursday to discuss trade following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, agreeing to work to foster stronger ties between the two countries, a source close to Osborne said.

Britain's trading relations with the rest of the world have been thrown into sharp relief by the June 23 vote to leave the EU, through which it has negotiated its trade deals for decades.

The source said Osborne had "productive discussions on investment, financial services, and fostering stronger trading ties" when Britain is outside the EU.

The meeting formed part of the preparations for a G20 finance ministers meeting in Chengdu later this month. Osborne will use that trip to visit several cities to promote UK-China relations in light of the referendum result.